Ore-concentrator.



PATENTED DEC. 20, 1904,

l. GAMMETT ORE GONOENTRATOR.

APPLICATION FILED omzo, 1903.

l SHEETS-SHEET 1.

HO MODEL.

PATENTED DEC. 20, 1904.

I. A. GAMMETT.

ORE OONOENTRATOR.

APPLIGATIOH FILED 00T.20, 1903.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2,

N0 MODEL.

l /WW pas PATENTED DEC. 20, 1904 I. A. CAMMETT.

- ORE OONUENTRATOR.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 20, 1903.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

N0 MODEL N0, 777,837v PATENTED DEC. 20, 1904-.

I. A. CAMMETT.

ORE OONOENTRATOR.

APPLICATION FILED 001120, 1902.

N0 MODEL, 4SHEE'lS-SHEBT 4.

UNITED STATES Patented December 20, 190 1.

IRA A. OAMM JTT, OF DENVER, COLORADO.

ORE-CONCENTRATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 777,837, dated December 20, 1904.

Application filed October 20,1903. Serial No. 177,759.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, IRA A. OAMMETT, aciti- Zen of the United States, residing at Denver, in the county of Denver and State of Colorado, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ore-Concentrators, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to ore-concentrators by which the pulp is separated into concentrates and waste.

The invention applies more particularly to the oscillatory type; but it will be evident hereinafter that some parts thereof are applicable to other types. Concentrators in which the pulp is fed to a distributer-disk, which is separated from the bowl a slight distance sufficient to permitthe pulp to flow over the edge and drop onto the bottom of the bowl, so that by the centrifugal action in the bowl .the heavy metallic particles are caused to move outwardly and the lighter particles, which form the waste, to accumulate toward the center of the bowl, are known. Valves which are operated automatically by the oscillation of the bowl to discharge the concentrates are also not broadly new, nor is an adjustable discharge-pipe for the Waste.

My invention relates to improvements in these parts of this type of ore-concentrators and also to the means for feeding the pulp onto the distributer, as well as to minor details.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide means for feeding the pulp onto the distributer in an even and readily-regulated stream.

Anotherobjectis toimprove upon the valve mechanism, so that the valves will work with the greatest efliciency, and when the rotary speed of the bowl is at the maximum.

Another object of the invention is to simplify the means for adjusting the dischargepipe for the waste.

Other objects are to simplify the ore-concentrator in general and render it more durable and efficient.

My invention consists of certain features of construction and combinations of parts to be hereinafter described and then particularly claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a plan View showing the preferred form of my improved ore-concentrator. Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof. Fig. 3 isatransverse section on the line 3 3 of both Figs. 1 and 2. Fig. i is a sectional detail view of the valve mechanism; and Fig. 5 is a view of the valve mechanism, showing the bowl and in which the extreme positions of a part of the valve mechanism is indicated by inclined lines, said part in one extreme position being shown in dotted lines.

Referring to the drawings, the bowl a is suitably supported so that it may be oscillated to produce the requisite centrifugal action. The bottom of the bowl is provided with a vertical hollow shaft 7), which turns in abearing furnished by an upwardly-projecting sleeve or socket 6, located on the supportingbase Z2 of the concentrator. The bowl is oscillated in any suitable manner, preferably by means of the mechanism which is disclosed in. my copending application, filed May 13, 190$,Serial No. 156,906,and which mechanism comprises, in brief. a driving-wheelo, driven from a suitable source of power and connected to a segment or prime mover c by means of a pitman 0 the prime mover 0 being mounted on a pivot-shaft (Z and frictionally engaged at its beveled edge with the beveled edge of a bevel-wheel e, which forms a portion of the bottom of the bowl. The said bevel-wheels c an e are preferably connected together, as described in said application, by means of suitable ropes, cords, or cables, (indicated in the present drawings by c 0 The side walls and the outer portion a of the bottom of the bowl are preferably of sheet metal of suitable shape, the bottom portion a being riveted or otherwise secured, as at f, to the peripheral portion of the bevel-wheel c.

The distributer-disk g, which is located within the bowl and is only separated from its inner surface by means of a narrow annular throat g, is provided with a slightlyraised rim and :1. depending flange g which flange dips down into the contents of the bowl sufficiently to form a water seal. Fixed to the rim of the distributer g are hangers it, which, as indicated in dotted lines, are longitudinally slotted to receive bolts it, which pass through the upper portion of the bowl. By loosening the bolts the distributer 1 may may be raised or lowered, and by tightening them the same may be fixed in adjusted position. This is desirable when more or less water is to be used in the process of concentration. The distributer-disk is provided with a central hub i, which has an enlarged portion c", that seats upon the upper portion of the disk, and also has a screw-tlneaded neck 2' to receive a nut 2', whereby the hub may be rigidly secured to the distributor. The hub is of tapering shape, or, in other words,

is a cone, and forms a valve for the purpose to be hereinafter stated.

Supported on the base of the machine is a Sup mrting-armj, which is bent inwardly at its upper end, so as to extend over the bowl, where it is provided coincident with the axis of the bowl with an eye 7", in which is bolted or otherwise secured, by means of suitable bolts a flanged bushing is, which is screwthreaded interiorly. The screw threaded bushing 717 receives the exteriorly-screwthreaded neck It" of a hopper into which the pulp is fed. By turning the hopper on its vertical axis more or less it will be caused to be raised or lowered and to thereby adjust the size of the annular throat Z, formed between the lower end of the neck of the hopper and the hub or valve 2'. When the throat is enlarged, the stream of pulp which flows from the hopper will be much greater than when the throat is contracted, and the amount of pulp fed can be regulated as described. The pulp is evenly distributed upon the distributer-disk by flowing down the tapered outer surface of the hub or valve 2'. It is evident that as the bowl oscillates the hub 01' valve also oscillating acts to loosen up the material in the throat Z, surrounding the valve, thus facilitating the feed.

A tube on extends upwardly from and is rigidly fixed to the upper end of the hub or valve z, and through the same the adjustingrod n for the discharge-pipe a passes. The discharge-pipe 72/ slides within the axial hole formed in the bevel-wheel a and discharges the Waste through the hollow shaft 6 into the launder a, from whence the waste is discharged for further treatment, if warranted. The adjusting-rod a is bifurcated at its lower end at p, and the bifurcations preferably pass through the lower end of the discharge-pipe a and project into longitudinal grooves b formed in the inner wall of the hollow shaft Z), sothat the adjusting-rod may move in a longitudinal direction without turning the discharge-pipe. Ascrew-thread is formed on the upper end of the adjusting-rod to receive a hand-wheel g, which is provided with a screwthreaded hub q, the screw-thread of which engages with the screw-thread of the rod a. A jam-nut g is applied to the threaded end of the rod or above the hub'of the hand-wheel g, so that by means of thehand-wheel and the jam-nut (1 the adjusting-rod, and in consequence the discharge-pipe "/1", may be adjusted and secured in adjusted position in evident manner. By the described means for adjusting the height of the discharge-pipe the connection of the adjusting-rod with the discharge-pipe is simplified, and a simple means for adjusting the said rod and pipe is provided, these parts, together with the distributer-disk, being supported from the bowl by means of the hangers 71 v An important portion of my invention resides in the valve mechanism. The bowl is provided with a concentrates-discharge nozzle or opening '2', which flares away from the in-.

terior of the how], so that there can be no packing of the concentrates in the nozzle,with resulting stoppage or retardation of the outflow. A valve .9 is formed by means of the rubber-faced depending arm of a bell-crank lever s, the valve being held closed upon the seat of the outlet-opening by means of a closing-spring 8 attached at one end to the end of said arm of the bell-crank lever and at the other end attached to a hook s on the bottom portion a of the bowl. The pivot s" of the bell-crank lever is located above the outletopening for the concentrates, and the other arm, 8, of the bell-crank lever projects outwardly from the bowl, so that by raising the arm a of the bell-crank lever the valve 8 on the other arm of the bell-crank lever may be opened to the outflow of concentrates, the discharge being into a suitable receiver. The base 6 of the concentrator has bolted or oth erwise secured thereto a suitable casting 6, provided with a pair of separated eyes or lugs t t between which is located a hand-wheel 6 having a screw-threaded hub t", through which and through the said eyes 6' t a screw-threaded setting-rod it passes. This rod a is provided at its upper end with a hemispherical socket a, which receives a ball a on the lower end of a valve-rod a, which is of sufficient length to pass through a hole a) in the outer end of the arm 8 of the bell-crank lever. The upper end of thevalve-rod a is provided under the said arm 8 with an abutment if of preferably annular form and faced by a rubber washer a, located between it and the arm .9 By adjusting the setting-rod a through the medium of the hand-wheel 2f the length of time during which the valve is open is controlled.

The operation of the valve mechanism, which is actuated by the oscillation of the bowl, is as follows: In this connection reference may mainly be had to Fig. 5, in which the lines 0 and y indicate extreme left-hand and righthand positions, respectively, of the valve-rod if, the latter being shown in dotted lines in its left-hand position and the central position being shown in full lines. The valve is not open during these extreme positions, but is only open at a point intermediate of the two positions and is open to its fullest extent when the valve-rod is at the central positionthat is to say, when it stands in alinement with the setting-rod a. As the bowl oscillates from side to side the valve-rod also oscillates upon the ball-and-socket joint at a if, the upper end of the valve-rod sliding downwardly in the arm 5-" of the bell-crank lever carrying the valve, so as to move the abutment u away from the said arm. When the oscillatory rod will have reached the center of its stroke, the abutmentu on the valve-rod will have struck or at least the interposed cushioning-washer 1&5 will h ave struckthe arm 8 of the bell-crank lever and the valve 8 will have opened, permitting the concentrates to flow out. It will thus be seen that the concentrates will flow out only at the middle of the stroke, or, rather, between the ends of the stroke, inasmuch as the valve-rod only actuates the valve when it is moving toward the central or upright position. The time at which the valve will open and close is regulated by setting the rod a, this being done by turning the hand-wheel 6 one way or the other.

A portion of the pulp-feeding means is constructed to oscillate within another portion of the said means for the purpose of loosening up the material which is fed through the throat, the material being therefore fed out in an even and uninterrupted annular stream.

From the description given the operation of the concentrator will be fully understood, and it only remains to be added that some of the features of the invention may be used without others and that it may be embodied in widely-varying forms.

Therefore, without limiting myself to the construction shown and described nor enu-.

merating equivalents, I claim, and desire to obtain by Letters Patent, the following:

1. In an ore-concentrator, the combination of a bowl having discharges respectively for concentrates and waste, an adjustable distributer supported directly from the wall of the bowl and a water seal below the distributer variable through adjustment of the latter, for substantially the purposes set forth.

2. In an ore-concentrator,.the combination of an oscillatory bowl having discharges re spectively for concentrates and waste, adjustable hangers attached to the upper part of the bowl and a distributer-disk supported by the hangers, for substantially the purposes set forth.

3. In an ore-concentrator, the combination with an oscillatory bowl and a distributer supported thereon, of pulp-feeding means comprising a hopper, and a cone projecting into the lower end of the hopper to form an annular discharge-throat, both the hopper and cone being located above the distributer and one of them suitably mounted for oscillation relatively to the other, for substantially the purposes set forth.

4:. In an ore-concentrator, the combination with an oscillatory bowl and a distributer supported thereon, of pulp-feeding means comprising a hopper, and a cone projecting into the lower end of the hopper to form an annular discharge-throat, both the hopper and cone being located above the distributer and one of said parts being adjustable relatively to the other and one part being mounted for oscillation relatively to the other, for substantially the purposes set forth.

5. In an ore-concentrator, the combination with an oscillatory bowl and a distributer supported by the bowl, of pulp-feeding means comprising a hopper fixed relatively to the bowl, and a cone supported by the distributer and projecting into the lower end of the hop per, for substantially the purposes set forth.

6. In an ore-concentrator, the combination of a bowl having a discharge for waste at its lower portion, a discharge-pipe extending upward from said discharge and longitudinally movable therein, a distributer supported in the bowl, an upwardly-extending tube supported by the distributer, an adjustingro :l extending through said tube and connected at its lower end with a discharge-pipe and means located on the upper end of the said rod and supported by the said tube for adjusting the rod and discharge-pipe, for substantially the purposes set forth.

7. In an ore-concentrator, the combination of an oscillatory bowl having a longitudinallygrooved discharge for waste at its lower portion, an adjustable discharge-pipe extending upward from said discharge, an adjusting-rod provided with a bifurcated lower end, the bifurcations of which project through the discharge-pipe and are guided in the longitudinal grooves of the discharge and means for adjusting the said rod and pipe, for substantially the purposes set forth.

8. In an ore-concentrator, the combination of an oscillatory rotary bowl having a lateral discharge-opening, an arm pivoted above said discharge-opening and provided with a valve for closing the opening, means tending to close the valve and impinging means actuated by the oscillation of the bowl for positively opening the valve, for substantially the purposes set forth.

9. In an ore-concentrator, the combination of an oscillatory rotary bowl provided with a lateral concentrates-discharge opening, a spring for closing the valve and impinging means actuated by the oscillation of the bowl for positively acting on the valve for opening it, for substantially the purposes set forth.

10. In an ore-concentrator, the combination of an oscillatory rotary bowl provided with a lateral concentrates-discharge opening, a spring for closing the valve and impinging means actuated by the oscillation of the bowl for positively acting on the valve for opening it, said means being supported independently of the bowl, for substantially the purposes set forth.

11. In an ore-concentrator, the combination of an oscillatory bowl, means for producing centrifugal movement within the same, a concentrates-discharge opening, a valve provided with means for closing it upon the opening and valve-opening means supported independently of and automatically operated by the bowl for overcoming the closing means between the limits of the oscillatory movements of the bowl, for substantially the purposes set forth.

12. In an ore-concentrator, the combination of an oscillatory bowl provided with a discharge-opening for the concentrates, means for producing centrifugal movement within the bowl, a valve tending to close the opening, val ve-opening means supported independently of and automatically operated by the bowl for overcoming the closing tendency of the valve between the limits of the oscillatory movement of the bowl, and means acting on the valveopening means for regulating the length of time during which the valve is opened, for substantially the purposes set forth.

13. In an ore-concentrator, the combination of an oscillatory bowl provided with a concentrates-discharge opening, means for producing centrifugal movement within the bowl, a valve tending to close the opening and an oscillatory valve-rod mounted to automatically oscillate during the oscillatory movements of the bowl and for overcoming the closing tendency of the valve, for substantially the purposes set forth.

14:. In an ore-concentrator, the combination of an oscillatory bowl provided with a concentrates-discharge opening, means for producing centrifugal movement within the bowl, a valve tending to close the opening, an oscillatory valve-rod mounted to oscillate during the oscillatory movements of the bowl and for overcoming the closing tendency of the valve, and a ball-and-socket support for the valverod, for substantially the purposes set forth.

15. Inan oreconcentrator, the combination of an oscillatory bowl provided with a concentrates-discharge opening, means for producingcentrifugal movement within the bowl, a valve tending to close the opening, an oscillatory valve-rod mounted to oscillate during the oscillatory movements of the bowl and for overcoming the closing tendency of the valve, and asetting-rod supporting the lower end of the valve-rod so that it may oscillate, for substantially the purposes set forth.

16. In an ore-concentrator, the combination of an oscillatory bowl provided with a concentrates-discharge opening, means for producing centrifugal movement within the bowl,

a valve tending to close the opening, an oscillatory valve-rod mounted to oscillate during the oscillatory movements of the bowl and for overcoming the closing tendency of the valve, a setting-rod, and a balland-socl et joint between the setting-rod and the valve-rod, for substantially the purposes set forth.

17 In an ore-concentrator, the combination of an oscillatory bowl provided with a concentrates-discharge opening, means for producing centrifugal movement within the bowl, a valve tending to close the opening, an oscillatory valve-rod mounted to oscillate during the oscillatory movements of the bowl and for overcoming the closing tendency of the valve, a setting-rod provided with a hemispherical socket and a ball at the lower end of the valve rod resting and bearing in said socket, for substantially the purposes set forth.

18. In an ore-concentrator, the combination.

of an oscillatory bowl provided with a concentrates-discharge opening, means for producing centrifugal movement within the bowl, a bell-crank lever pivoted to the bowl and carrying a valve for said opening, means tending to close the valve, and a suitably-supported oscillatory valve-rod acting on said bellcrank lever to open the valve between the limits of the oscillary movements of the bowl, for substantially the purposes set forth.

19. In an ore-concentrator, the combination of an oscillatory bowl provided with a concentrates-discharge opening, means for producing centrifugal movement within the bowl, a bell-crank lever pivoted to the bowl and carrying a valve for said opening, means tending to close the valve, and a suitably-supported oscillatory valve-rod, said valve-rod having a .portion sliding within the bell-crank lever and provided with an abutment for striking the same to open the valve, for substantially the purposes set forth.

20. In an ore-concentrator, the combination of an oscillatory bowl provided with a concentrates-discharge opening, means for producing centrifugal movement within the bowl, a bell-crank lever pivoted to the bowl and one arm of which is provided with a valve for closing the said opening, an oscillatory valverod provided witha ball-and-socket support at its lower end, said valve-rod sliding at its other end in the other arm of the bell-crank lever, and an abutment on the valve-rod for striking the said arm to open the valve between the limits of oscillation of the bowl, for substantially the purposes set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

IRA A. (JAMMETT. Witnesses:

S. B. HARDY, WVM. WVILsoN 

